Stewart, 47, refuses to close the door on one more 500

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Whether Tony Stewart ever competes in another Indianapolis 500 remains to be seen, but an indication of that may come as early as next August’s 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway.

The 47-year-old Stewart, the 1996 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, 1997 Indy Racing League champion and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, said in August he would like to make one more attempt at an Indy 500 but listed it as a “maybe.”

During a promotional event at Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 10, Stewart said he would have to compete at Pocono the season before making a run at the Indy 500. Translation, he would have to run at Pocono in 2019 to run at Indianapolis in 2020.

"Pocono is what we had kind of figured was the best scenario because that's kind of the same package that you run at the Speedway, so if we were going to do it, you'd probably see us run Pocono the year before," Stewart said at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday. “That way when May came around, I'd at least be up to speed, not trying to learn a whole race car again and a whole new system all over."

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Stewart emphasized if he were to do it all, it would be a serious effort and not an attempt at grabbing some attention, once again taking a poke at one his former Cup Series drivers.

“I don't want to do like Danica Patrick. I don't want to be a sideshow at the 500," Stewart said. "If I do it, I want to do it because I want to feel like that I legitimately have a shot (to win) when I show up on the first day. I want to feel like I have a shot to win the race. Those guys are so competitive in that series right now, you aren't going to show up like you could 20 years ago and jump in a car and go out there and be up to speed with those guys. They are on top of their game."

For those who think Roger Penske’s offer to run Stewart in one of his cars is still on the table, that's not a lock. That offer was made six years ago, and Penske already stated he has a full, four-car lineup for next year’s Indy 500 with the return of three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves to the team. Of course, things could change in the Penske stable by 2020.

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Stewart rattled off a few teams he has spoken with about an Indy 500 return.

“I actually talked to somebody from Rahal Letterman Lanigan yesterday, so I don't know," Stewart said. "We're talking about it, and it's not necessarily who we'd be doing it with. I mean we've talked to Andretti. We've talked to, obviously, Penske. I still got an open offer with him which is pretty cool, and I think Chip (Ganassi) would want me to come back and do it again with him if we had the opportunity."

Stewart has made five Indianapolis 500 starts with a career-best finish of fifth. His last Indy 500 start came in 2001.

If he were to return for the 2020 Indy 500, Stewart realizes he would need to get into shape.

"By then I'll be 49, and that's pretty late to be trying to resurrect an IndyCar career, I think,” Stewart said. “But I like to eat too much, and those guys (in IndyCar) are skinny. Skinny guys ... very, very skinny guys."